When it comes to providing the best TV experience for your hotel guests you have 3 options.
Today with cable and Satellite TV providers offering a large variety of channels for residential customers, giving your hotel guests just the few local stations available on an over the air antenna is not a viable option, so we will discuss the difference between the guest (and hotel) experience of cable vs satellite TV.
Almost all TVs that your hotel guests are purchasing for use in their homes today are 1080P capable. A new high definition standard, 4K Ultra HD, has been released, but is not in general use in the hospitality industry yet.
Satellite television, like that from DIRECTV, high definition is broadcast in up to Blu-Ray quality or 1080P.
In their homes, Cable and Satellite TV subscribers both have a tremendous amount of channels available to them. The best subscription TV programming packages have 285+ channels with 190+ in HD.
Cable TV packages available for the Hospitality industry from Comcast, Cox and Time Warner are very limited. Comcast's top package has just 80 channels total including locals and they are the industry leader for cable.
By comparison, the best lodging and institutions package from satellite provider DIRECTV has 160+ channels with more than 75 in HD.
The question you have to ask is how well will the technology in the hotel television system you are considering integrate with your IT infrastructure. Can legacy technology like cable integrate with your evolving IT systems?
The pace of technological advances is not slowing down and legacy providers like cable television have struggled to keep up with the changes. Cable's platform limits their ability to provide the best possible viewing experience today and as technology advances they will fall even further behind.
Satellite TV providers like DIRECTV are constantly working to bring you the newest hotel television system technology like the Com1000 HD Headend and most recently the revolutionary DIRECTV Residential Experience for Hotels.
DIRECTV has also brought the TV experience guests have at home today into the hotel room with the same remote control, the same interactive channel guide and even the digital video recorder (a very popular feature for luxury, business traveler focused and extended stay properties).
DIRECTV is working with television manufacturers to provide televisions with pro:idiom encryption built in and DIRECTV receivers built in so you don't have to have bulky cable boxes on top of your new high definition flat screen TV.
On Satellite TV, mid-level programming packages provide 100+ channels including ESPN, ESPNews, ESPN2 and ESPNU + the availability of premium movie channels.
On Satellite TV provider DIRECTV, top level packages include 160+ channels with 75+ in HD. Channels including The Movie Channel, 8 Encore channels, and the most comprehensive sports programming: CBS Sports, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NBC Sports Network, NFL Network, NHL Network, Univision Deportes, and more!
The next step is to find out which package will best fit your budget and the needs of your hotel guests.
When its time to compare the Hotel TV system and provider options for your hotel, call us at 800-951-1979 or 505-296-9423.
We will walk you through the differences and help you find the best package for your property, your guests and your budget.